Birthday
by Uncle RJ Kitten
Summary: He is invited to Cream's birthday party, but he didn't come. Who knew a small decision like that could lead him to something bigger, something he silently wished for: Family.


_Birthday_

He is invited to Cream's birthday party, but he didn't come. Who knew a small decision like that could lead him to something bigger, something he has silently wished for: Family.

 _ **Dedicated to those who has an extra space in their heart for another person to be a part of the family**_

* * *

" _Being A Family Means You Are A Part Of Something Very Wonderful. It Means You Will Love And Be Loved For The Rest Of Your Life"  
-Lisa Weedn_

Cream is happy; no beyond happy. It's her birthday today! Who wouldn't be happy about that? Everyone is at her home celebrating it. She didn't expect a lot of people would come but her friends had invited their friends to come.

" _A friend of a friend is always a friend!"_ she always said whenever someone asks her if they could bring their friends along. So a lot, and by Chaos _a_ _lot_ of people are there: Sonic, Tails, Amy, the Chaotix, Big, Rouge, Blaze, Silver, and even Shadow and Omega (courtesy of Rouge)!

And now her house is overloaded and very crowded, almost suffocating. So her mother, Vanilla, decided to expand the party outside. All are wearing party hats, except for Shadow (no surprise there).

"Thank you again for coming, Mr. Raphael," Cream says cheerfully to the tallest and the most curious person she had ever met. He just (literally) dropped from the sky out nowhere and out of sudden. He survived the fall and looking very confused.

Cream knows that she shouldn't talk to strangers, especially strange stranger like him, but he was very friendly. And she was a little too excited about today that even invited him to her party, to which he came.

"Oh I'm just passing by this place but thank you for inviting me, little bunny," Mr. Raphael replies back with a small smile. "Look, I have to bail early since I have somewhere else to be. I'm sorry okay?"

"That's fine. It's my fault for inviting you here." Although she accepts his departure, she is sad that her newest and strangest friend had to leave. With a last pat on her head, Mr. Raphael turns and strides away, with the party hat still on his head.

"Now all I have to do is to find Commander, wherever that big guy is…" she heard him muttering but she dismisses it, seeing nothing important about it.

"Cream, sweetie, time to blow the candle!" the little bunny heard her mother calling.

"Coming, Mom!"

oOoOoOo

"This cake taste different, Vanilla," Amy comments when she first tasted her slice of the birthday cake. The mother rabbit smiles at the pink hedgehog.

"I'm trying something new today, adding different flavors instead of the same usual," Vanilla answers. "Is it good? I didn't manage to taste this batch since I was shortage of time." The smile is replaced by a concerned frown.

"It tasted incredibly good!" Sonic decided to bud in and gave his answer to Vanilla, who quickly smiles at the answer. "I'm going to take another one!"

"Nu-uh, you already had two; give someone else the slice!" Amy shouts just as the blue hedgehog makes a beeline for the cake.

"Sonic, there are chilidogs on the table there!" Hearing Vanilla's shout, Sonic quickly makes a sharp turn for the tray full of chilidogs. While Amy sighs in relief, Vanilla giggles silently behind a hand at the blue hedgehog's antic. She looks over the crowd for her daughter as Amy walks away to Tails.

Cream is having a conversation to anyone she can while taking a bite out of her slice, with Cheese floating at her shoulder. Currently now, she is talking to Rouge the Bat.

oOoOoOo

"So how old are you today?"

"Seven today!"

"My, time is sure fly fast. You're growing up very quickly," Rouge comments with a smile.

"Are you enjoying the party, Miss Rouge?" Cream asks as she spoon-fed Cheese the cake. Rouge beams down at the little bunny.

"It's a lovely party, Cream. I enjoy it very well." The bat gently pats her head, causing the little bunny to giggle. "But something is missing though…" Rouge mutters, stopping the giggle to a halt. Rouge scans the area, as if looking for someone.

Her words cause Cream to freeze, as if she also realizes something. She looks down at her half-eaten slice of cake. Cheese suddenly hovers to her field of view, looking concern. Rouge seems to quickly dismiss her words because she suddenly snorts and a smirk plays on her lips.

"Just look at him; the party's right over here yet he's over there," Rouge says more to herself than to Cream. Looking up at where she is looking at, Cream saw Shadow the Hedgehog, sitting on the ground away from the party with his eyes closed, with the party hat at his side. Rouge then heads of towards him, leaving Cream and Cheese behind.

Somehow, Cream feels that Rouge wasn't talking about Shadow but something else. She looks back down at her slice and takes a spoonful of it.

The flavor…

She looks up at where the full cake had once been. She notices there is only one slice left and no one seems to want it.

"Chao?" Cheese returns back to her field of view, looking more concern than before. Cream looks at her companion and then returns back to the last slice of the cake. The realization finally dawns on her.

"Someone's missing…"

oOoOoOo

With the help from Amy, Tails and Big, Vanilla cleans up what is remained of the party. The rest has had their cleanups before going home, to which Vanilla is thankful for now that her labor is significantly lesser.

"Mom?" Vanilla heard her daughter calling. Turning around, Cream is standing there – with Cheese hovering beside her – with a gaze all too familiar to her. She got if from her after all.

"What is it, dear?" she asks, already half-expecting an answer she might not like.

"I need to go somewhere," Cream answers. Vanilla notices that she didn't give the entire truth and is about inquire the whole truth, but then her eyes landed on the lunch box in her daughter's hands.

She frowns in confusion; she looks back up at the place where the entire cake once lay. The last slice is gone. It had never been touch, until now. Then she looks back down at her daughter and the lunch box.

She connects two and two together but something is still missing. Whatever the missing piece is, her daughter knows what it is. And adding in the gaze she is giving, she will not back down from it. Vanilla sighs.

"Just be careful, dear. Don't injure yourself, okay?"

Cream gives her probably the brightest smile ever since she reached the age of seven and then gives her mother a big hug. After releasing, she immediately ran off to Tails, to her surprise. Vanilla watches as the two tailed fox and the rabbit interacts – whatever Cream said seems to surprise Tails – when a piece of paper blew onto her leg.

She picks it off from her leg and scans it. It seems recent, since she had never seen it before and during the party, and judging by the handwriting it is by Cream.

She smiles fondly when she finds out the truth. Looking up, she watches as her daughter jogs away following Tails in front of her. She looks back down at the name list.

"He didn't attend the party."

oOoOoOo

"It should be around here somewhere…" Cream looks around the forest, somewhat lost when searching for the shrine. She hugs her small lunch box close yet carefully to her chest while Cheese floats closer to her.

She personally had never to this island before. Heard about it and seen it, yes, but never on it. She even thought the island and its guardian are just a legend. It's an interesting experience for her, exploring new territories. There are some plants and fruits she had never seen on the surface here on the island.

They heard a rustle nearby. They wouldn't be afraid since the island is full of wildlife creatures but the rustle is a little too close for their comfort.

They turn slowly at the source of the rustle and almost scream in fright when a figure emerged.

"Cream?"

The said rabbit sighs in relief, followed by Cheese. Cream takes a few breaths to calm down before smiling up at the figure.

oOoOoOo

"Hi Mister Guardian!" The Guardian looks very surprised as he looks down at her with wide eyes, tilting his head a bit; probably surprised at seeing her on Angel Island.

He had heard the sound of an engine earlier, while silently thought of how his peaceful evening slowly slipping away. He decided to investigate. He didn't except to see the little rabbit here on his island. He takes note of the lunch box she holds to her chest but dismisses it quickly; probably her meal for later.

"How did you get here?"

"I had Tails helping me to get here." Knuckles nods in understanding. She couldn't fly here herself; her rotating ears don't have enough energy to fly up that high and that far. And that explains the sound of the engine.

"Can I ask why you are here, Cream?"

"To meet you, to talk to you." Although he silently groans in dismay, her statement confuses Knuckles and makes him slightly curious; why would Cream want to talk to him?

"Let's head for the shrine first," he says before turning around and heads for the said shrine, where the Master Emerald lays. He looks over his shoulder, checking if Cream and Cheese follow and slows down his pace so they could keep up.

It didn't take long for the trio to arrive at the shrine. Cream probably tried to find it but got lost in the way. He wouldn't be surprise; she had never been here to know the route. Tails had probably just points at a direction and Cream just walked in a straight line.

Upon climbing to the top, they are greeted by the Master Emerald. The Guardian glances at his companions. Cream and Cheese are staring at it with wide awed, wondrous eyes. On anyone else, he hates that look, but not these two.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Knuckles asks as he sits down one of the many steps. That seems to break the spell as Cream shakes her head and turns her attention towards the Guardian.

"Why aren't you there at my birthday party earlier today? You are invited, aren't you, Mister Guardian?" Cream asks innocently as she grabs her Chao friend with one hand.

' _Of course she'll talk about that,'_ Knuckles sighs as he silently thinks to himself.

"Yeah, about that; I'm sorry I didn't attend the party. Happy birthday, by the way." Cream smiles at that last sentence and nods a thank you. "It's…" How is he going to put this lightly? "I… don't like parties, or crowded places," Knuckles answers the little rabbit's question. Cream tilts her head in confusion.

"Why don't you like crowds, Mister Guardian?" The Guardian silently sighs in annoyance but he has expected it.

"I like to be alone and be left alone."

"Oh." Cream seems surprise at his answer, and Cheese mirrors her expression. She quickly replaces it with a wide smile. "Speaking of my birthday, when is your birthday?"

Knuckles freezes as his breath hitches. His birthday…

"It's… uh…" He thinks hard, trying to come up a reason. "I, uh…" Sadly he comes up empty. With another sighs, he decided to tell her the truth. "I don't know my own birthday," he says quietly while looking away.

"You… don't remember?" Judging from her tone, Cream is very shocked. Even the Chao utters a single word of shock.

Knuckles feels embarrassed, for not knowing his own birthday. Yet at the same time he feels saddened, for not knowing his own birthday.

"D…Don't your mother and father ever celebrate it when you were born?"

Mother… father… Born…

His heart clenches painfully inside his chest. Tears start to form and sting his eyes. He immediately wipes them away with the back of his hand, being very careful of his own knuckles. Luckily he's facing away from Cream so she won't see his embarrassing tears.

"I don't have any mother… or father…" He hears a clatter behind him. Cream must have dropped her lunch box. After that is probably the longest and the quietest silence he had ever felt, followed by the quietest and the most heartbreaking whisper coming from Cream.

"No… family?" His heart clenches even more painfully, so painful he had to clutch his chest trying to suppress the pain.

"No," Knuckles whispers; his tone barely audible to any ear. "I don't remember being raised by anyone." Words are spilling from his mouth. A little rabbit like Cream shouldn't hear this but he couldn't stop.

"I don't remember the first few years after I was born, whenever that is. I don't remember celebrating anything, if I have _anything_ to celebrate. I don't celebrating at all. All that I know is that I exist, and I do my duty to protect the Master Emerald from anyone." He chokes on an unexpected sob, pausing in his spill. He slaps a hand over his eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"I have no one. And I have no birthday."

For years, he has keeping the facts away from it, burying it as deep as he could. _"Things better left unknown,"_ he once told someone when they asked about his shrouded past. He doesn't want to know about his past, simply because of those facts; that's why he buried it away and built walls around him that took him years to build each.

But no matter what, reality and truth are always a step faster than you. They'll catch up eventually, and no matter how thick the walls you had built, no matter how many they are, they will break down eventually, one by one, or all at once.

He has no mother. He has no father. He has no family. He doesn't even remember his own birthday. He doesn't even know whether he was born or simply just popped out of existence a few years ago. All he ever had, ever since the beginning, are this island, the Master Emerald, and the heart-quenching loneliness.

When he felt a pair of tiny arms envelop around him, and an even tinier pair on his shoulder, those are the last straw for him. For the first time in, probably forever, Knuckles breaks down. Tears escape his hand and stream down his cheeks soaking his crimson fur, his sobs are muffled by another pair who shares his grief.

Knuckles suddenly chuckles though hidden by his sobs. It's funny; he's all tough and mighty and gruff to anyone and anybody he meets, yet here he is, broke down and cries in front and by a little innocent bunny.

Their sobs had tone down to sniffles, though their cheeks are still wet. Knuckles have drop his hand to his lap but didn't look up at the Cream, somewhat feeling ashamed of himself.

"You don't have no one, Mister Guardian," Cream suddenly starts between sniffles, still not letting go of the Guardian. "You have someone, more than one person."

Knuckles doubts that; there is no way Cream have connection with the other echidnas beside him. Hearing her saying that he has someone did give him hope but he quickly diminished it, knowing that's not true.

"You have Mr. Sonic…"

The annoying blue hedgehog? He envies the blue hedgehog, for his carefree freedom and independence and able to be running free there and here. Despite his jealousy and rivalry towards Sonic, he's Knuckles first and best friend, and he is very thankful of it but would never say it out loud even if his life depends on it.

"You have Mr. Tails…"

Sonic's "little brother", and really Sonic's Tails. The kit babbles a lot that really makes his head spin. And his techno-babble really irritates him. But Knuckles really cares the little kit, defends him whenever Sonic is unable to.

"You have Ms. Rouge…"

The jewel thief on wings. They fight and argue a lot, sharing the same rivalry towards each other. He doesn't like her flirtatious and seductive nature. But despite her personal-space-invading nature, her presence is welcoming and the one he most expected. Out of everyone he had ever met, the bat is the one that visits him most frequently, almost everyday to "steal the Master Emerald". After hearing about Cream's birthday party, he finds out why Rouge isn't here today.

He then realizes Cream is talking about his friends (and "rival" for Rouge), someone that is there for him and with him recently. They had made his lonely life livelier, more interesting, less lonely. They are very close to him yes, and had become part of his life, even Rouge the bat.

Cream and Cheese suddenly release him and take a step back. The Guardian rubs away the remaining tears from his eyes before turning towards the little rabbit and her Chao companion. Despite the tears, she has a determined look on her face and her hands are clenched into fists.

"It takes more than just blood or heritage to have a family. But if you still feeling lonely and wanting to be part of a family, then you can be a part of my family!"

His eyes widen, and his heart skips a beat. A glimmer of hope bubbles inside him. To be a part of a family, no matter how small… Is she…?

"And if birthday really means that much to you then let today be your birthday!" Cream picks up the discharged lunch box that survived from the fall, but whatever inside is probably a mess now. She opens it and presents it to him.

It's a single slice of a cake, probably her birthday cake. It's a little messy but still appetizing enough. Is she saving it for him the entire time?

"It may not be enough, but starting today and forever more, you'll be "Uncle Knuckles". Happy birthday, Uncle Knuckles!"

"Chao!"

Both Cream and Cheese are beaming widely at him. He stares at the offered cake as his mind digests what the little rabbit had said.

For some reason, he has become an uncle, without any thoughts or planning; just like that. Just the girl said it and then boom…

He is now a part of a family, although he barely has any connection to the said family. What would make him in the family; an adoptive or a surrogate uncle?

He slowly takes the offered slice of cake from Cream's small hands and looks down at it, noting its familiar color. He smiles softly at it before looking up at the little rabbit.

"Thank you, Cream… for… these… for everything." Despite his awkward words, Cream beams even wider, fully knowing what he meant.

"Cream!? Come on; it's getting late; time to go home!" the trio hears Tails shouts from a distance.

"I better get going." Before Cream ever goes back, she dives into Knuckles and embraces him tightly, taking him by surprise; Cheese hugs only his shoulder due to his size. He almost dropped the cake and places his arms around her more to return the embrace than balancing her.

"Happy birthday, Uncle Knuckles," she murmurs into his shoulder softly. The Guardian tightens his embrace as she did the same. Finally the two release each other, and Cheese releases Knuckles. They share one last smile before Cream and Cheese run off to Tails.

Knuckles watches as they go before turning his attention to the slice of cake in his hand. Using the provided spoon, he takes a spoonful and puts it into his mouth. He sighs in pleasure and closes his eyes.

Grapes. Coincidence? Probably not. Probably it is meant to be. Probably he is meant to be welcome into a family, and the first person who welcomed him in is a little bunny and her Chao friend. He hears the sound of engine above him, causing him to look up.

Tornado is flying above him. He sees Tails in the cockpit, waving at him with a smile. But his eyes are glued to the other person on the plane. Cream, with Cheese near her, is waving at him with an even bigger and more meaningful smile.

He returns back the wave with his hand that holds the spoon, and keeps waving at them with a smile until they disappeared from his sight. He drops his hand back to his side and moves his attention back to the slice on his hand.

He chuckles as his mind wanders back to Cream, thinking at how she immediately makes the decision without hearing any thoughts from anyone.

But he is happy for it, and grateful for her.

' _Uncle Knuckles…'_ the new title taste foreign on his tongue, but not unpleasant. He'll grow use to it, and will love it eventually. He takes another scoop of the grape-flavored cake with a smile that stays for quite a while.

As he savoring the delicious taste of the cake, he hears the sound of flapping wings follow by the sound of boots (safely) touching the ground behind him.

"You're late." He doesn't need to turn around to know who it is; he's been expecting her, waiting for her.

"Missing me much, Knuckie?"

"…You could say that."

oOoOoOo

"I'm home!" Vanilla heard her daughter shouts her presence from the front door. She looks up at the clock on the kitchen wall. She's late; she better has a good reason for it. She probably has because she's visiting Knuckles.

"Welcome home, Sweetie," Vanilla greets when she heard her daughter enters the kitchen. "How's the visit to Mister Guardian?" At that, Cream smiles very widely and very brightly. Cheese mirrors her expression.

"It was wonderfully great!" she chirps happily, with Cheese throws his hands in there to mirror her expression. "And…" Cream gives her mother an even bigger smile. "Our family is now bigger!" Vanilla tilts her head at her daughter's exclamation.

"What do you mean by that?" she asks in confusion and curiosity.

"Uncle Knuckles is now a part of the family!"

' _Uncle Knuckles…"_ the name sounds quite amusing to hear, and very foreign to the tongue; a title too young for the echidna, but old enough for Cream.

"Why did you invite him to the family, dear?" Vanilla is not trying to be mean; she is just curious. What had Knuckles do to make a very fast transition from "Mister Guardian" to "Uncle Knuckles"?

The happiness that radiated from Cream suddenly disappeared and her cheerful smile changes to a sad one. She looks down on the tiled floor before answering her mother's question.

"He needs it, Mom," she murmurs quietly, almost inaudibly. "Mister Guardian… Uncle Knuckles… doesn't have a family." Cream sniffles as tears begin to swell up. Her mother begins to feel her sadness because she stops whatever she is doing, gets down to her knees and embraces her daughter. Cheese just hugs her shoulder because of his small size.

"Uncle Knuckles cried because he doesn't have a family, and he was lonely on Angel Island. So that's why-" Her sentence is cuts off by the unexpected hiccup but she continues on. "That's why I welcome him to our family, so he won't be lonely, so he has a family to love and to be loved. All he wanted is to be in a part of a family."

"Oh, Sweetheart; your heart is too big," Vanilla murmurs into her daughter's ear as she begins to sob. She sways her daughter from side to side to comfort her.

"He doesn't even know his own birthday…"

' _You've certainly touched a heart there, Knuckles.'_ Her daughter's sobs have tone down into sniffles, thankfully. Vanilla looks out through the window as she rubs circles on Cream's back.

Sadly, Angel Island isn't anywhere in sight or anywhere near her home in general. It's very far away, floating in the sky, hidden by the clouds, supported by a giant emerald, and guarded by a red echidna. She releases a sighs while a small smile plays on her lips.

' _Welcome to the family, Uncle Knuckles.'_


End file.
